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Chemist improves accuracy of cancer detection

One of the hallmarks of cancer is that it often doesn’t show itself until it’s too late. But now Professor James Rusling of the chemistry department has developed a method that detects with high accuracy the presence of multiple proteins in the bloodstream indicating that a person has oral cancer.

In 2010 Rusling and his colleagues developed a method to detect a specific protein, called interleukin-6, that could signal that a person had oral cancer. But this single protein was not enough to make a clear case: When using only one biomarker, as these proteins are called, Rusling says that the risk of false positives and negatives are too common.

“Single biomarkers do not provide enough statistical power, and there is too much biological variability in humans for predictions based on them to be correct more than three-fourths of the time at best,” says Rusling. “And often prediction reliability is much worse than this.”

So, being able to test for several different biomarkers, all of which could identify an oral cancer, increases the odds that cancer will be detected, and detected early.

“For oral cancer, there is no one biomarker accepted for diagnostic use, and tumors are diagnosed by visual inspection of the mouth cavity,” explains Rusling. “So the validation of the panel we have developed will provide a new diagnostic tool for oral cancer.”

The method Rusling and his colleagues developed works by attaching antibodies to proteins that are present in high levels when there are cancerous cells in a person’s system. Through a series of steps, these antibodies then produce an electric current that is read by another antibody embedded in a sensor chip created by the team. The chip can detect eight different signals.

The team tested the device by using it to detect four different proteins, and the result was a higher sensitivity to the protein’s signals than has ever been demonstrated.

The next hurdle is to transition the medical field into these multiple biomarker measurements. Many cancers, such as prostate cancer, are detected with some measure of accuracy using a single biomarker. Rusling and his collaborators are not only developing these methods, but are helping with the transition from single-biomarker to multiple- biomarker clinical cancer diagnostics.

“In the future, we hope to develop and measure panels that not only detect certain cancers, but also provide specific information to guide personalized therapy,” Rusling says.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and done in collaboration with Dipak Dey of the Department of Statistics and other researchers from Maryland, Rhode Island and Malaysia.

More than $47 million a year is spent by CLAS faculty on research grants that they bring to the University. Read more about their findings.

Join us for a talk by Gina Barreca,2018 UCONN BOARD OF TRUSTEESDISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

All great works of fiction, poetry and dramaâas well as texts forming mythologies, religions, national epics to heroic sagasâhave loneliness at the heart of their narrative. From Persephone to Peter Pan, from âFrankensteinâ to âFrozen,â the stories we pass along are saturated with unwilling isolation.âOnly around half of Americans say they have meaningful, daily face-to-face social interactions,â according to a 2017 study. A former U.S. Surgeon General argues that âWe live in the most technologically connected age in the history of civilization, yet rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980s.â We need more than social media. We need social contact. We need community. How can we break through the loneliness barrier? Being alone when in need of companionship is more than sad; itâs an epidemic.Chronic loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. We need to change our national story and, often, our personal ones as well.Even the concept of the âlone wolfâ is a myth. Wolves hunt in packs.

Reception to follow.

For more information about this event, or if you are an individual who requires special accommodation to participate, please contact the CLAS Deanâs Office at (860) 486-2713.

A liberal arts and sciences degree prepares students with the tools they need to excel across a wide range of careers. Given the number of options available to you, it can be overwhelming to narrow down career choices. Attending CLAS Career Night will provide you exposure to career opportunities for CLAS students.

This semesterâs focus will be on research-based careers. During this event you will engage with CLAS alumni, learn about various occupations, and gain insight about how to best prepare for your future career.

The McNair Scholars Program and the Office of Undergraduate Research invite you to join us for a brown bag research seminar.

Birds, Bacteria, and Bioinformatics: Why Evolutionary Biology is the Best

Sarah Hird, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology

This series is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, and is designed especially for students conducting (or interested in conducting) STEM research. These seminars are opportunities to learn about research being pursued around campus, to talk with faculty about their path into research, and to ask questions about getting involved in research.

About CLAS

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the academic core of learning and research at UConn. We are committed to the full spectrum of academics across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. We give students a liberal arts and sciences education that empowers them with broad knowledge, transferable skills, and an ability to think critically about important issues across a variety of disciplines.